Kushner loses top-secret clearance

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s son-inlaw and senior adviser, Jared Kushner, has lost access to top-secret information after his security clearance was downgraded along with that of dozens of other White House aides whose background checks had yet to be completed, according to a person familiar with the process.

Kushner’s security clearance was reduced to secret, restricting what intelligence reports and sensitive information he is allowed to see. That could inhibit his work on an extensive portfolio in the White House that includes the Middle East, China and relations with Mexico.

The change comes after White House chief of staff John F. Kelly set out to revamp the security clearance process and crack down on the unusually large number of advisers whose background checks remained incomplete or had raised questions. Kelly did so after Trump’s staff secretary, Rob Porter, resigned following allegations of spousal abuse, information that had kept Porter from getting a permanent clearance.

Kelly declined to confirm the action in Kushner’s case. “I will not comment on anybody’s specific security clearance situation or go beyond the memo released last week,” he said in a statement Tuesday.

He added that he had “full confidence” in Kushner’s “ability to continue performing his duties in his foreign policy portfolio including overseeing our Israeli-Palestinian peace effort and serving as an integral part of our relationship with Mexico.”

Similarly, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders, without confirming any change in Kushner’s clearance status, told reporters, “He’s a valued member of the team, and he will continue to do the important work that he’s been doing since he started in the administration.”